§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if he will make a statement on the role of the UK Government with regard to the DAC-OECD Task Force. [176794]
§ Hilary BennA senior DFID official chaired the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) Task Force on Donor Practices and Aid Harmonisation. The Task Force produced the DAC Guidelines 'Harmonising Donor Practices for Effective Aid Delivery' which set out good practices for improving harmonisation. At the DAC High Level Forum in Rome, February 2003, the representatives of 51 multilateral and bilateral development agencies, including DFID, and 28 developing countries endorsed the Guidelines and committed themselves to taking forward this agenda. DFID produced a Harmonisation Action Plan in February 2003 that we are due to report on (at the DAC) in early July.
Following the Rome Declaration, the DAC Working Party on Aid Effectiveness and Donor Practices was established to further the work of the DAC Task Force. DFID is represented at official level on the Working Party and its sub-groups; the Task Team on Harmonisation and Alignment, Joint Venture on Public Financial Management, Joint Venture on Managing for Development Results, Procurement Capacity Building and Aid Untying. DFID staff members have attended meetings of all five subgroups since their inception, making a significant contribution to their work programmes. A second High Level Forum will take place in Paris in March 2005, to take stock of progress and accelerate action in key areas.
§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what approach the UK Government is taking with regard to the regulation of aid-giving policies encouraged by the DAC-OECD Task Force, with specific reference to Africa. [176795]
§ Hilary BennThe main output of the OECD Development Assistance Committee Task Force on Donor Practices was a report in 2003 on "Harmonising Donor Practices for Effective Aid Delivery". Rather than seeking to regulate aid donor behaviour, it sets out good 665W practices for donors to follow. DFID has adopted an Action Plan to promote Harmonisation, which aims to reinforce on-going changes within DFID (as well as encouraging similar reforms in other donor agencies). These changes make procedures simpler and more flexible, so that we can more easily harmonise with other donors, align our assistance with national poverty reduction strategies, and make greater use of partner government systems (rather than separate parallel channels) where this is appropriate. DFID is also aligning its own internal incentives to ensure that they encourage staff to promote these good practices.
Harmonisation is a particularly high priority for African governments which find dealing with a large number of donor agencies burdensome. DFID supports many country-led harmonisation initiatives like Uganda's Partnership Principles and Rwanda's Partnership Framework, and has led donor efforts to harmonise budget support in several countries including Ethiopia, Ghana and Mozambique. DFID also plays a leading role in the Strategic Partnership with Africa which is a World Bank-chaired forum bringing
Table A: DFID Percentage Grade 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 Senior civil service Women N/A 18.4 17.5 14.3 16.0 16.7 20.6 22.7 Ethnic minorities N/A N/A N/A N/A 6.7 11.4 9.1 10.6 A1 Women N/A 11.7 12.2 19.2 24.2 25.0 24.5 29.1 Ethnic minorities N/A N/A N/A N/A 1— 7.4 8.0 12.5 A2 Women N/A 26.4 26.7 27.7 33.3 39.2 40.2 43.8 Ethnic minorities N/A N/A N/A N/A 4.9 6.9 7.9 8.9 A3 Women N/A 39.7 43.8 50.0 50.0 49.1 54.2 52.3 Ethnic minorities N/A N/A N/A N/A 5.7 9.1 10.0 12.2 B1 Women N/A 38.5 36.8 40.3 42.2 44.0 45.9 45.9 Ethnic minorities N/A N/A N/A N/A 4.7 11.6 9.3 18.0 B2 Women N/A 49.1 49.2 50.0 51.9 54.1 52.5 52.4 Ethnic minorities N/A N/A N/A N/A 9.6 13.0 13.9 14.5 C1 Women N/A 65.4 66.1 70.0 68.2 67.3 66.9 66.8 Ethnic minorities N/A N/A N/A N/A 14.2 16.6 17.6 13.6 C2 Women N/A 55.9 58.1 55.6 56.7 51.1 56.7 51.8 Ethnic minorities N/A N/A N/A N/A 9.8 10.0 9.2 16.7 1Not known. 666W
Table B: CDC Group plc Percentage Women Ethnic Minorities 1997 N/A N/A 1998 32.8 5.3 1999 33.8 4.8 2000 33.8 4.8 2001 32.3 4.7 2002 32.3 6.5 2003 35.8 6.4 2004 61.4 7.6 together representatives of major donors and African governments to challenge and help donors to improve their performance.